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Hero in TTC subway rescue says he was just in ‘the right place at the right time’

A TTC rider is being hailed as a hero after he jumped down to the subway tracks to save a visually impaired man who had fallen.

Kyle Busquine, a 24-year-old landscaper, had got off work early Thursday afternoon and was heading home on the subway when the incident occurred.

Kyle Busquine, a 24-year-old landscaper from Scarborough, said his reaction was “instinctual” when he saw a man lying injured on the subway tracks. (Julien Gignac / Toronto Star)

A photo that has been shared widely on Facebook shows three TTC riders who rushed to the aid of a man who had fallen to the tracks at Broadview station. Kyle Busquine is standing in the centre. (Julie Caniglia / Facebook)

As his train pulled into Broadview station, Busquine said he heard “muffled screams,” then saw a man lying on the tracks on the opposite side.

“Once I got out of the train, I heard him saying, ‘Help, help, please help’ … He looked hurt. He was barely able to get some of the words out,” Busquine said, adding that the man’s leg appeared broken.

Busquine jumped down to the tracks. He was quickly joined by two other passengers, who helped him hoist the injured man back up to the westbound platform. “I knew I had to,” he said, describing his reaction as overpowering and “instinctual.”

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“At that moment, I was just on adrenalin. It’s not something you ever want to see.”

The man on the tracks was badly rattled, Busquine said. He didn’t catch the man’s name, or the names of his two helpers. They left the station before TTC officials arrived.

The incident quickly caused a stir after an onlooker posted a photo of the rescue online.

Julie Caniglia was on her way home from work when her train made a longer-than-usual stop at Broadview station.

She heard the same faint cry — “Help, help me please” — and said she spotted a man with a cane lying on the tracks. It was “the fright of my life,” she said in a Facebook post that has since gone viral.

Caniglia then described how another man in a T-shirt — Busquine — jumped down to the tracks, “without hesitation,” to help.

“You just don’t know if there’s another train coming. He didn’t even think about it,” Caniglia said in an interview, adding the man had “guts.”

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“It was all quite fast and just incredible to watch,” Caniglia told the Star.

She said she posted her photo of the three “Good Samaritans” online because she wanted what they did to be known.

“It was amazing,” she said. “We all need a bit of positive reinforcement that there’s some great people out there.”

As of Friday evening, her Facebook post had been shared more than 40,000 times and drawn almost 5,000 comments.

“OMG I still have faith in people,” wrote one commenter.

“We need more heroes. These young men give us hope for the future of mankind,” said another.

A TTC spokesperson said a rider in the station was quick to press the emergency button at the end of the platform to cut power before the rescuer jumped onto the tracks.

The men could have been electrocuted if they had touched the third rail, which supplies power to the trains, the spokesperson said.

For much of the day, Busquine remained a mystery hero, garnering accolades on social media for his bravery.

But when the Star met with him on Friday evening, he brushed off the praise and said he couldn’t have done it without the two men who rushed to assist him.

“A coincidence,” said the Scarborough resident. “I guess I was at the right place at the right time.”

The attention the incident has drawn feels “surreal,” he added.

“I’m really happy it resonated with people. It’s a feel-good story.”

He said he’s a morally driven person, and that helping others in need is “basic humanity.”

“At the end of the day, you only have yourself to look at,” he said. “I personally wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I heard the man screaming (and didn’t step in).”

A TTC spokesperson said the man who fell on the tracks was taken to hospital to be treated. He was not identified.

The spokesperson added that he recommends riders notify TTC personnel if there is an incident at track level.

With files from The Canadian Press

Julien Gignac is a general assignment reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @JulienGignac

Clare Rayment is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @clare_rayment

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